Mayor Murray has just appeared at City Hall with his choice for Seattle Police Chief, Kathleen O’Toole, who will be the first female SPD chief if confirmed.

Speaking after Murray’s announcement, O’Toole said she has four themes:

*Public trust – “work tirelessly to restore” (it)
*Restore department pride – “if people make honest mistakes we’ll stand by them”
*Crime and quality of life – “I think we need to develop a plan for each neighborhood in this city,” including violence prevention
*Good business – “we’re running a large organization … we need to do it efficiently and effectively as possible”

In questions post-announcement, she said she hopes to visit the precincts often. “No one person can change this organization – it will be a collective, collaborative effort,” she added. And she called the job “the icing on the cake [for her career] not a stepping stone. … I love the fact that this city is an innovation city, second to none.”

I just hate it hate it hate it when I hear people blather on about how they want some candidate for elective office to NOT be a politician. Case in point – Mayor McGinn made a big deal about not being a politician. Mayor Murray, was able to shepherd Marriage Equality through the state legislature over many years by working with everyone, but not getting ahead of himself. A true, effective Politician.

I’ve been reading up on this choice. Ms. O’Toole seems to have the support of nearly everyone she’s worked for or who’s worked for her, including a glowing endorsement from the Nation of Islam leader in Boston and commendations from the grieving parents of the girl accidentally killed by Boston Police during the Red Sox victory riots.

This is an outstanding choice and it’s proof that a professional politician – not a partisan hack, but the real deal – is what you want in a complicated political office. It looks to me as though Mayor Murray is going to do an outstanding job.

of all three (err, as of the weekend: two) candidates, ms. o’toole was clearly the most accomplished and prepared to take on the job
of leading the police dept. I’m somewhat appalled by mike’s comment that it is the most politically
correct choice. whenever there’s a highly capable female candidate for a job, it never fails that someone will put that type of disclaimer in as opposed to lauding them for their personal and professional accomplishments, other politically correct aspects aside. would he have made that wNt if the final choice were one of the men? maybe she got the job because she was the right person
for it! I’d like to think so. could it possibly be??!!

SPD chief is just as much a career ender as superintendent of Seattle Public Schools. My condolences to O’Toole, you made the wrong choice of employer. Two years in Seattle will make you toxic to other employers, three years ends you career. My advise: run away now. Don’t take the job in the first place if your career and personal well being matter to you at all. Run. Now.

GotB … to your side point, actually, Susan Enfield’s done pretty well since leaving the Seattle superintendency; Highline’s been making some waves. And I wonder sometimes if John Stanford, had he not succumbed to cancer, might still be in charge, and whether things might have been different. Got the chance to interview him one day, not long before his death, as field producer for Kathi Goertzen, someone also gone too soon. But I digress. – TR

@Mike: ask anyone who lived in Boston under her tenure. She puts more emphasis on the well-being of violent criminals than hard-working, law-abiding taxpayers. And, locking up valuables and rolling up windows instead of more aggressively pursuing criminals is resigning oneself to crime instead of being proactive (ie; I was being sarcastic). Criminal-coddling is the last thing our city needs in these turbulent times.

I wish her the best, but, damn, I hated when she said “Mistakes were made.” That is such a weasel-y, passive expression. Also, her TOP priority should be dealing with crime: gangs, car theft, shootings, etc.

I KNOW people who lived in Boston under her tenure. She was not popular with Republicans. But, then, unless women are particularly stupid and willing to say anything for money, Republicans dislike women intensely.

@Gwen: you just offended millions of republican women in one sentence. Wow. And, I happen to be a libertarian who loves my democrat wife immensely. @Jeannie: like you, I was concerned about that exact same statement from her as well. SPD has had a very long history of very bad police chiefs, so the bar has already been lowered nearly to the ground.